Friday, December 26

Strawberry Guavas: The Antithesis to Christmas Cookies

(Strawberry Guavas)

What is the complete opposite of Christmas cookies? I just did some research; turns out that the complete opposite of a Christmas cookie is a strawberry guava. The Cherimoya comes in a close second, so it's getting its own post in a couple of days.

(Cherimoyas)

It's no wonder this sexy fruit is native to Brazil, the land of beautiful bronzed bodies and gorgeous beaches. Everything about a strawberry guava says, "look at me."

Eating a strawberry guava is a memorable sensory experience. First it entices you with its intoxicating perfume of ripe summer strawberries and tart pink grapefruit. Its butter cup yellow rind is smooth and soft to the touch, evoking warmth and sunshine. One bite of a strawberry guava will make you understand why it's called "exotic." The creamy, fruity flesh is the color of roses, while the flavor is a beautiful combination of tangy, sweet grapefruit, juicy, ripe strawberries, and late summer grapes.

Most U.S. guavas are grown in Hawaii and Florida, though the strawberry guavas you see here were grown in Southern California and generously given to me by our friend, Adel. These strawberry guavas have a pastel yellow skin yet also come in bright red or deep purple. When buying strawberry guavas or any variety of guava really, look for a fragrant fruit that is free of blemishes and soft to the touch. Hold it in your hand, and give it a gentle squeeze; it should give slightly, being neither too hard nor too squishy.

If it's unripe and hard, then place the guava in a paper bag with a yellow banana. The banana will produce ethylene, which will speed up the ripening process. Keep unripened guavas at room temperature. Though fully ripened guavas can be refrigerated for several days, they are best eaten sooner and fresher. Also note that the entire fruit is edible, from the rind to the flesh to the small white seeds.

You're probably wondering, "Where can I buy strawberry guavas?" Given their status as "exotic" fruit, strawberry guavas, along with most guava varieties, can be difficult to find. Your best bet is try a high-end organic store such as Whole Foods or the online site Melissas.com. Or take a vacation to San Diego, where they can currently be found at our farmers' markets. (Plus, if you do it before January 1st, you can use it as a write-off on your taxes from all your blogging money. Hahahahhaha.)

Though most guavas are eaten simply out-of-hand, they can be made into jams and sauces, or blended into drinks. I have done none of them. In fact there is no recipe today. Just luscious strawberry guavas. Because after posting 228 Christmas cookies, this is truly the anti-Christmas cookie post.

OMG!! these are my childhood fruits, Susan. I used to climb the guavas trees. And that cherimoyas... it reminds me of Immelda, my friend who used to be good to me. She used to give me this fruit during Christmas time when it was fully grown and fruits are in abundance. Pity I can't find them in NZ.

Susan, I am not sure why the guavas are the atntithesis (??) Christmas cookies (is it something bad??) but thanks for showcasing guavas, they are really amazing, one of my favourite fruits. In Brazil we actually have 2 types, the other one is white inside, both are delicious.The pink one, showed in your post makes an excellent juice.

Oboy! We have those growing everywhere on my grandmother's farm... Drank tea using its leaves, ate the fruit... So not entirely un-Christmasy for us, lol :) Been ages since I had the jam, though, probably not since I was a kid!

Your guavas are beautiful! Up here in the north we have what we call pineapple guavas and they have a green skin and are more oblong in shape than the ones you show. They are delicious and exactly perfumed as you describe. All leaving me to wonder just what is the kind that we eat as compared to yours. I'll have to do some sleuthing. :)

What a lovely treat! Growing up, we had a guava tree in our back yard. Tres exotic, let me tell you! The outsides were pretty boring, but open them up and the beauty was revealed. Your strawberry guavas have the added bonus of beauty on the inside and outside. Lovely.

I don't know if these are the same ... but I do remember my grandfather getting strawberry-flesh colored guavas when I was growing, and many after-school days spent eating them with a generous touch of salt and chili powder! Your wonderful post has me longing for them now :)

Both these fruits are very common here in India. I have seen 3 varieties of Guava here. Ones like those in your pictures, then yellow on the outside but white inside and green on the outside but pink inside.These fruits are very good for diabetics as are the leaves of the tree.

The name Cherimoya is new to me but not that fruit. Also common here, we call them Custard Apples. And they are absolutely creamy, sweet and delicious. :)

I grew up with strawberry guavas in SOuth Africa - they seemed to grow on trees in every second friend's garden! The irony is that I used to love eating them but sometime at school I stopped liking the taste and never really changed my mind again. One of my mom's favourite stories about me is how I grew up speaking Afrikaans and calling these fruit by their Afrikaans name - koejawel. One day my half-sister was visiting and when I asked what was in the bag she'd brought, she said "guavas". I bit into one and said "Hey, this guava tastes just like a koejawel" and brought the house down.